chaste canoodling
by tennisnotensai
Summary: [Merthur] It was a common sight in these small hunts to find the king leaning against a tree with his manservant snuggling beside him. They made half-hearted efforts to find semi-secluded spots to do whatever it was that they did when alone, and knights didn't bother them or impose on their privacy.


**Warnings:** OOCness, English is not my first language, not beta'd, sexual situations

**Disclaimer:** No copyright infringement intended.

**A/N:** A draft from 2017 that I decided to clean up.  
First posted on my AO3 on December 27, 2018

* * *

It was an open secret in the whole castle that the king slept with his manservant. However, there was another secret that the castle wasn't privy to, and only the king's closest knights and friends knew about it.

On hunts when the king was with knights besides his most trusted, he'd sleep in his own tent while his manservant slept with the other servants. Their interactions would only consist of the servant's perfunctory duties and usual snipes, and touches, lingering gazes, and any form of affection would be kept to a bare minimum or none at all. But when with this closest knights, his "inner circle," as some begrudgingly called it, they made no effort to keep their affections hidden. His manservant would sleep in his tent, and since there were no other servants but him and because his most trusted knights were, well, trusted with not one but two secrets, they can be as open as they want.

It was a common sight in these small hunts to find the king leaning against a tree with his manservant snuggling beside him. They made half-hearted efforts to find semi-secluded spots to do whatever it was that they did when alone, and knights didn't bother them or impose on their privacy.

Sir Gwaine, though, on more than one occasion, spied on his king, determined to get a glimpse of something to tease them about. The king's manservant, who was also a good friend of his, however, would use his magic to keep them hidden after the first time that Sir Gwaine caught them in the middle of... things.

(After that incident, his friend the manservant-cum-sorcerer erected barriers to shield him and his king from prying eyes and ears.)

This hunt was no different from their other hunts. The nights were getting colder and the fire blazing in the middle of their camp was nudged along by sorcery to keep them all warm. Sir Gwaine was regaling his fellow knights with his infamous bawdry tales (that he's told about a thousand times before), and his king and friend were canoodling by the campfire, those shameless bastards.

"Though of course," Sir Gwaine said, "my sordid stories must be nothing compared to what our good king and his trusted servant get up to during the night."

"We hear you, Gwaine," the king said, not removing his hand from where it was playing with his manservant's hair.

"And we see you, sire," he replied. "Could you perhaps move your activities to your tent? I wouldn't mind watching, but our friends here might be scarred for their lives."

"We're being chaste," the king retorted. Really, he could be so childish sometimes. It's a wonder how his manservant put up with him for eight years.

"Aaaaaand that's my cue to take first watch," Sir Leon said, standing up. He had the misfortune (though Sir Gwaine would call it 'fortune') of seeing the king and the sorcerer mid-coitus. He didn't want that to happen again.

"Cheers, Sir Leon," Sir Gwaine said, and raised a wineskin to the other's retreating form.

"Merlin," the king said, helping his manservant up, "I'm afraid our chaste canoodling would transform into something heated any moment now. We must spare my subjects a scary sight. Come along now."

Merlin rolled his eyes and gave a long-suffering sigh. "Whatever you say, Arthur."

Really, those two were essentially running the whole kingdom. Merlin may be doing it behind the shadows, but if the king would just speed things up and lift the ban on magic already...

On second thought, that might not be ideal because the whole of Camelot might witness something they might not want to see.

Sighing, Sir Gwaine lied on his side and tried to get some sleep, hoping that Merlin would use sorcery to mute the sounds he and the king would surely be making.


End file.
